Moments
by LittlePrussianBirdie
Summary: John Egbert's the new kid. Dave Strider's the sterotypical cool kid. And on John's first day the two hit it off. John automatically starts making new friends and having a good time at school for once. But soon he finds that it isnt all fun and games.
1. First Day of School

**Chapter 1**

**F****irst Day of School**

_It won't always be that bad, right? Right?_

* * *

John Egbert looked up at the large looming building, sighing loudly. Another new school. He couldn't believe his luck. He'd have to survive somehow. He always did. But for some reason this school seemed different. Like everyone in the school was out to get him. Well...for some reason he always felt like that with a new school. After a few days the feeling would go away, he was sure. Nobody knew him here, so why would they have a reason to hate him?

He mustered all the strength he could to walk up the steps. The kids around him joked and laughed with each other, happily ignoring his presence.

_Why would they want to look at some loser like you, Egbert? _

There was that voice again. That stupid voice that always held him back. He normally ignored it, but sometimes it was kind of...hard. John's self-esteem had been running extremely low lately. He hadn't made any friends at his old school. Or the one before that. Or the one before that. He could feel that darkness falling over him again, consuming his body.

His dad said it would clear up; the depression would go away eventually, no medication needed. A few words didn't fix it though.

Neither did the moving. It seemed like they moved every single week now. First it was Los Angeles, then Chicago. Soon after they moved all the way down to New Orleans. That was fine until tourist season was over and they had to move again. New York City was next. John questioned his father's choice in their current move: a small New Hampshire town right out of the movies. Big tall trees with colorful leaves, nice small cottage-like houses and not too many people. There was a main part of town, with little shops and a mini-mart. It was nice and quiet compared to all the other places he'd been. He wasn't sure why his dad moved them here, but he did. John kind of...appreciated it.

He pulled the little slip of paper that had all his information on it, including his classes and locker number and combination. He tried focusing just on the slip of paper and nothing else. That way maybe the thoughts would go away. Just for a little.

"Are you John Egbert?" A perky voice said. John quickly looked up, bumping into a figure in front of him. It gave out a slight _"oof" _and fell flat to the ground. John held out his hand to the black-haired girl. She took to gratefully.

"Sorry about that, I got lost in thought," He said, rubbing the back of his neck. How embarrassing. This poor girl probably didn't want to waste her time with such a dweeb like him. He'd already managed to knock her to the ground. She should just walk off and forget about their encounter. Completely.

"It's fine. I was told by class pres to show you around." She smiled brightly. "So if you don't mind, follow me."

John followed the girl nervously through the school doors and into the building. John looked around. It was just like all the other schools. Girls stood in groups giggling, jocks picking on the average nerd, regular kids slamming lockers. None of them would notice him. Ever. He was just some loser. A friendless loser.

"John? Are you paying attention?" The girl smiled, pushing her glasses up her nose. He nodded. So he lied, not like she knew.

He quickly turned his attention to her appearance. Black hair put up in a messy bun, bobby pins holding back stray hairs. She wore a "Plant a Tree, Save the Earth" T-shirt, white skinny jeans and black and white running shoes. She had a generally nice figure, not to skinny, not too fat. She was probably on the track team, considering the running shoes. Yet again, she could just like the way they looked.

"So, what do you think? Skaia's got about thirty different electives you can take. I take running and gardening," She said smiling. "Omigosh! I didn't even tell you my name! Its Jade, Jade Harley. I'm VP of the student council." She giggled.

"Oh." John smiled. "Well, you already know me, John Egbert."

"Duh, I've known you for a while! Rose told me about a week in advance. She said it in that really serious tone she uses: don't forget John Egbert!" Jade smiled, white teeth glistening. "Now, lets find your locker!"

She pulled John throughout the halls, twisting and turning through the crowds of people, even knocking a few out of the way. All the way she smiled and hummed cheerily. John couldn't help but smile to himself. This was the nicest girl he'd ever met, and she actually treated him like a real human being and not some

"Look down, look down," Jade suddenly said, eyes ducking to the floor. John followed her example and kept his eyes glued to the floor. He wasn't quite sure why he was staring deeply at the floor. Was he not supposed to look at something? Or was he not supposed to look at someone?

"Okay, we're good. Sorry about that," Jade giggled, throwing some of her hair back. "We were passing by some of the higher ups. They just look for fresh meat to torture. You would've been an easy target. Especially with those buck teeth." John put his hand up to his mouth, blushing. He'd always been embarrassed of his two front teeth.

"Don't worry. I had buck teeth when I first got here too, they bullied me for it." Jade threw her head back and laughed. John smiled a little, a wave of comfort washing over him.

"Well lucky you! Your first class is right next to your locker!" Jade said, pointing to a blue, cloud covered locker. "You got one of the nicer ones. I think I helped paint that one..." Jade said, tapping a rubber-band-covered finger to her lips.

"What are those for?" John asked, rubbing the back of his neck. God was he nervous. He felt like the biggest loser talking to such a pretty girl.

"Oh! Well, I really don't know!" Jade giggled as John stared at her, confused. "Well, you see, I put them on here because I'm really forgetful!"

"But if you don't know what they're for, then whats the point?"

"I'll remember eventually! Now, for your locker combination-!" She looked at a yellow band around her pinky, frowning a bit. "Good gosh darn! I totally forgot! I put your combination in Rose's locker because mine is so cluttered!" She stomped her foot, slapping her forehead. John gave her a weak smile. She really was forgetful.

"Here, here, we can get there real fast! Follow me!" She pushed herself through the crowded hall, people maneuvering themselves around her. As for John, people just bumped into him like it was nothing. He kept his eyes closed most of the time, hoping not to hit anyone dead on. He opened his eyes just a sliver, his pupils catching on a large window. He stopped. In the middle of the room, on the other side of the glass, was a tall, pretty girl. She had short, whitish-blonde hair, decorated with a thick black headband. She had her eyes closed, chest pumping up and down. John stared at the beautiful black ballet shoes she had on. They were slightly worn out, but obviously still useful to the girl.

Then she started dancing. Beautifully and slow. Like water, John thought. He couldn't take his eyes off of her. Legs and arms moved in turn, flowing together. She had to have practiced this routine over and over, for hours. It was absolutely flawless-

_Thud._

The girl fell with such a force, everybody in the hallway seemed to turn and stare. Everything was silent for a moment. John looked at the door, ready to burst in and help her up. But suddenly there was a girl there. Tall and slender, covered in what had to be thousands of dollars worth of designer clothing. She helped her up, smiling softly. The blonde nodded and continued with her dance.

"Gosh, she just can't get that part down," Jade said, palm cupping her right cheek. "And she's been working so hard..."

"You know her?" John asked.

"Oh yep! That's Rose Lalonde! Student council pres!" Jade said, giving the girl a thumbs up and a nod. Rose, noticing them in the mirror she was facing, gave a thumbs up back, a small smile on her face.

"Come on, lets go!" Jade said, pulling him away from the window. John couldn't help but notice the dark circles under the Rose girl's eyes...

"Here we are!" Jade proclaimed, fingers flying to the lock. The purple, lightning covered locker was open within two seconds and then closed again. John was handed a little piece of paper with the number 5-34-23 scribbled on it. "Now, don't forget it!"

"How can you remember that combination if you can remember what those are for?" He said, pointing to her fingers.

"I overuse Rose's locker, lets just say that's basically _my_ locker." Jade smiled and started out toward John's locker. He followed, watching as kids passed them, trying not to make eye contact. It would just be better if he didn't. No awkward smiles or dirty looks.

"So where are you from? Rose didn't tell me anything about you! Well, minus that fact that you were coming."

"My dad, he um, owns this really famous bakery line and he likes to move. Last place I was was New York City." John chuckled nervously. "We owned a pretty nice penthouse there."

"P-Penthouse! Seriously! No way! That's so cool! You must be super rich!" Jade exclaimed. John gave her a slight shrug.

"Sort of...I mean, I don't really like flaunting it off. I hate it most of the time actually. I'm not a big cake fan because of him. Having sweets about every night can really ruin it for you," John said. "Every night's like a birthday party, minus the gifts and people."

"My mom took me to New York City once! It was so awesome!" Jade giggled and basically told her whole life story. Her mom and dad disappeared when she was little so she had to go live with her grandfather. He was really quirky, but he was the nicest man she'd ever known. "He always takes me to a big city for vacation. I've only been to New York once, but it was amazing! It was over winter, and Time Square was lit up like a disco ball! It was so cool!"

"I wish I would've been able to see it. It always looks cool on the TV!" John gave her a signature buck-toothed grin.

"Its like a fairytale! Really it is!" Giggles and laughter filled their conversation as they walked back to John's locker. When the two neared it, John noticed a cranky looking boy in a hoodie. He was scowling down at the lock, that didn't seem to be opening for him.

"Dammit, dammit, dammit!" He screamed as the two neared. Jade rolled her eyes and patted him on the back.

"You really suck at opening lockers, don't you Kar?" The boy scowled at her. He doesn't seem all that friendly, John thought to himself. "You're super lucky John! You get to have a locker right next to Karkat Vantas, the crankiest teenager at Skaia High!"

"Fuck off Harley," Karkat mumbled. Sleeve covered fingers fiddled with the lock until it finally popped open. "Finally." The dark haired boy grabbed his books out and slammed his locker, walking away quickly. Jade gave him another eye roll.

"Don't mind him John, he's a brat." John nodded, eyes falling back on the boy named Karkat.

"That sure is a strange name," John said as he began opening his locker. Jade shrugged.

"The parents around here give their kids some really messed up names. No lie. So don't be surprised if you hear a crap load of silly-sounding names," Jade said. "And don't worry, books and everything are in your locker." John gave a sigh of relief. This school was so big and there were so many people, it would've probably taken them forever to get to the library.

"If you ever get lost, there are loads of maps in display cases," Jade informed him, smiling. "My first week here, I swear, I got lost trying to find the girls gym at least four out of five of the days. Just try not to walk into the girls locker room? I walked in the guy's by accident..." Jade blushed.

"Well, that's comforting." John gave her a small laugh as he stuffed his bag into the tight locker. "Any other words of wisdom?"

She chuckled. "Not at the moment. I'll let you discover everything on your own! I better get going though! See you around!" John froze, staring into the classroom. He quickly looked back to Jade, who had turned and begun to walk away.

"Hey, do you mind if I eat lunch with you?" He choked on his words. His tongue jumbled and tangled them together, a tongue-tied mess.

"Come again?" Jade said as she turned, blinking a little.

"I...I said do you mind if I eat lunch with you."

"Oh...well sure!" She smiled brightly, eyes lighting up. "Its just me and my three other friends, so there's plenty of room! See you then!" And that was it. John Egbert had officially made his first friend at Skaia High.

* * *

"Whose the new kid?" Dave asked, nudging Tavros. The brown haired boy's head shot up, eyes tired.

"Who?" He said, voice scratchy.

"That kid," Dave said, fixing his sunglasses. The girls behind him gave out a small sigh. He rolled his eyes. The ladies just couldn't get enough, could they? "The one in the blue hoodie."

Tavros looked over at the boy, tired eyed and drool dripping down his chin. Dave rolled his eyes a little. "Well...Uh...I'm not sure. Must be, uhh, new," Tavros said, wiping his chin off. "Wonder where he came from."

"Dunno, looks like a dweeb to me," Dave said, voice monotone "Seems like one of those kids that gets picked on all the time."

"Look at that _nerd_," Somebody cackled from Tav's side. Dave looked over, staring into the eyes of _pure fucking evil. _

"Uh, Vriska, that's not very, uh, nice." Tavros backed up a little in his wheelchair, frowning. Dave returned his attention to the boy in the blue hoodie, who just chose one of the worst places to sit. Right next to the hipster priss.

"Who cares cripple?" Vriska scoffed. "I oughta go make friends with the loser, just because he has to sit next to _thaaaaaaaat _idiot." Dave knew Vriska was only going to walk over there to be a bitch. The only thing she was good at doing. And piercing herself.

He watched the whole scene from behind his glasses, poker-face on the whole time. Vriska obviously started it out with the usual, strung out "heeeeeeeey there." Then she insulted Eridan (probably something about his glasses) and told the kid to come sit next to her. The next thing Dave knew, Vriska and the new kid had come to sit down in front of him. Tavros shot him a nervous look as he stayed poker-faced.

"So, what's your name?" Dave asked, starting the conversation after a long, awkward silence. One of these douches had to do it, why not the coolest one out of them all?

"John...John Egbert," He said, moving black bangs out of his face. He was skinny, tall, with a mess of black hair. Square glasses enclosed his bright blue eyes, buck teeth slightly protruding from his mouth.

"Dave Strider." He nodded toward Tavros. "This is Tav."

"Hi," Tavros said, waving a little. Dave could tell he was nervous. He was always nervous when it came to talking to knew people. He'd really have to help him get over that and chill a little more. "You don't, uh, have to call me Tav, uh, if you don't want to." And do something about that stupid "uh" he added into every single fucking sentence.

"And I'm Vriska!" Vriska said, smiling her fanged tooth smile. John's eyes widened, obviously shocked by Vriska's giant canines.

"Don't worry, they're fake. She uses those to scare the freshmen. Even though her face and hair is scary enough," Dave said.

"Hey! Don't be a brat Strider!" Vriska said, swatting her hand around his head. Her nail hit the white headphones that rested around his neck, skidding a bit of blue nail polish on them.

"Watch it bitch." His tone darkened. He didn't fool around when it came to his Dr. Dre's. Those things cost his bro a pretty fucking penny. He wasn't about to have them ruined by this spider loving freak. "These are brand new Dre's."

"Oh calm down about your stupid headphones." She laughed. Stupid bitch thinks I'm fooling around, he though. "Dave's a bit of a douche bag John, don't mind him."

Dave felt a surge of anger go through him. He wasn't sure why though. He'd been called a douche by countless of people. But for some reason, he didn't like that this new kid was going to know him as "that douche bag that sits behind me in bio."

"Those are um, really nice Dave," John quietly said. "I have a black pair."

"Cool bro." Dave nodded. This kid wasn't as much of a nerd as he thought. Anyone who owned a pair of headphones made by one of the best rappers ever obviously knew a thing or two about _something_. Wait...was his face getting red? Dave Strider did _not_ blush. Thank God he had glasses to cover most of it.

An awkward silence fell over all of them again.

"How'd you get your hair like that?" John finally piped up, pointing to Vriska's mess of hair. Dave chuckled a bit and Vriska shot him a dirty look.

"Took a lot of time, but I'll explain how!" And then Vriska went into a long rant about her hair. She had dyed it black, teased it at the top and put a little bit of gel in it to make it spike. She then bought some light blue hair dye and dyed a strip in her bangs and two longer strips on the side. Theeeeeeeen she took a piece of tape and dyed a coontail on each lower said of her head and on the top of the left side. And the long part was of course extensions. Of course. That was the second time Dave had to sit through that. The second God damn time.

"At least it matches her face." Vriska shot him another dirty look. The man just spoke the truth. She had two lip rings on either side, snake bites, a ball on her nose, and two right eyebrow rings, plus the two weird little spiders below her right eye. But her ears were worse.

Don't even get him started on the bloody mess that was her ears. He remembered when she walked into class that day with, instead of the usual spider web studs, she had new, bloodier holes. Ones cutting right through the top, a barbell a little bit down by that weird foldey part, two horn gauges and a stud. On booth ears. Those motherfuckers were sputtering blood the whole fucking day.

"Don't worry Davey, I'm doing my nipples next!" She stuck her tongue at him, cackling. John's face went red.

"Do you know how, uh, badly those could, uh, get infected!" Tavros squealed. Vriska just rolled her eyes.

"Don't care Tav, its hot!" She whipped her hair around, successfully hitting John in the face. He leaned back and whispered:

"I think I would've taken my chances with the hipster."

Dave was definitely starting to like this kid.

* * *

**- I feel good about this one guys. I already have chapter two going! I have all the characters plotlines set out and I'm happy about it. Now all I have to do is update ON TIME and it'll be smooth sailing. I'm hoping gunna update this one every week or every other week. Depends on what kind of writing pattern I get into. **

I apologize for any spelling/grammar errors. I went over it but I might have missed some things. Ugh. I hate editing so much though, and I just get flat out lazy. LA-ZY.

Well, how do you like it? Not too depressing like all my Hetalia stuff (though I while be splurting out Sadstuck oneshots every here and there!) and it wont be so centered on depression or self-harm, though I have to put it in there _somewhere. _I mean, come on! Dramatic stuff like that is just so much fun to write.

Obviously you guys can guess who the higher-ups are *cough*alphakids*cough*. Barely anyone in this story is related, except for Dirk and Dave, Roxy and Rose, Equius and Nepeta and I think thats it...yeaaaaaaaaaaaap. :I I mean, theres a crap load of confusing friendship and enemy shit in there, but you know. I have it work out *cough*barely*cough* gosh I must be getting a cold.

I just had to use Skaia High didn't I? I am so fucking mainstream it isn't funny. Lolwut. But legitly, I am horrible at making stuff up when something like that is just given to me on a silver platter. Imma gobble that shit up, yo! (Birdie, stop talking like that, wtf!)

Anyway, tell me what you think! Thoughts on my totally scene Vriska, where I totally went overboard with her piercings and hair? What about Dave? Did I do a good job portraying him? He's a hard character to beeeeeeeeeee D: He's just...too cool. John'll perk up a bit now that he's made some friends, so don't worry! Prankster, happy, lively John will be here soon. I already added some KanayaXRose in there, just for Honey xD Gosh. So uh. Yeah. I put Karkles in there because frankly, I FUCKING HAD TO. HE'S JUST SO FUCKING ADORABLE!

REVIEW AND FAVORITE BR0WSKIIS! MAKES ME WORK FASTER! (and if you sent me pasta) (legitly, I'll give you my address) (loljk I don't want you hardcore creeping and sending me food!)


	2. Getting to Know You

**Chapter 2**

**Getting to Know You**

_You'll be doing good today, I'm sure. If not, its surely your fault._

* * *

The hour rolled on happily. John figured out he had four classes with Dave, two with Vriska, and two with Jade. John was happy he had a lot of classes with Dave; he was really nice to him, though he had that same blank look on his face all the time. Even when he laughed (which really wasn't a laugh, it was more of a scoff, but John counted it as one anyway) his lips barely curled. Dave Strider was the total image of cool. His hair, his clothes, his shoes. All of it was cool.

His teacher was generally nice, letting him sit in whatever seat he wanted. He stated that where he was was perfectly fine by him. She smiled and wrote his name on the class roster. Most of the hour was spent reading, but John didn't mind much. Biology was his favorite class. He'd even like to become a biologist one day.

Right before Vriska had her chance to read, the bell rang and she nearly bolted out the door.

"Dave, can I walk with you to our next class?" John asked, picking his books off his desk.

"Yeah bro, its cool with me." He picked his books up too, setting them in Tavros's lap. "Just gotta wheel Tav to music theory." John nodded and followed the two out the door.

"You know Dave, its uh, fine. I can do it myself," Tavros said, smiling a little. Dave shook his head.

"Nah, its cool. Saves Gamzee the run down here." Dave told him. His eyes stayed dead ahead, watching some unseen person. "Here you go Tav." Dave stopped in front of a classroom, letting going of the wheelchair handles. Tavros wheeled himself into the classroom, where he waved to a tall boy with wild black and purple hair and bunch of tattoos. He nodded at Dave and began talking to Tavros.

"Is that Gamzee?" John asked. The boy seemed scary, somebody who couldn't possibly be one of Tavros' friends.

"Yeah. Dude doesn't like me for some reason though," Dave said, shrugging. "Probably cause his boyfriend likes me better."

John's jaw dropped. "B-Boyfriend?" Dave stared at him for a moment.

"Yeah, Egbert, Tav's gay. Surprisingly, they get along. Even though Gamzee's a crazy pothead and Tavros is as awkward as any fucking teenage boy can get." John stared at the two for a bit, noticing how they seemed to just...fit together. It was weird but he could sense the care that Gamzee had toward Tavros.

"Lets get goin' bro," Dave muttered, eyes lingering on Tavros.

They walked in silence all the way to their next class. The air was a little tense around Dave, but John didn't want to ask. Or maybe he felt a little weird being around somebody so awesome. He couldn't deny that Dave was way cooler than he was. It made him feel even smaller than usual...

"Hey Dave, hey John!" Jade said as the two entered the classroom, waving happily and smiling. Dave smirked a bit and John gave her a small wave and a smile. The gloom went anyway, and his insides lit on fire with happiness.

He finally felt _wanted._ Like he belonged.

* * *

Karkat sighed, splashing water up on his face. He needed to wake up. Just three more hours and school would be over. Then he _definitely_ had to be awake. Those fuckasses at his house would die without him there. So he had to find a way to snap. the. fuck. out. of. it.

But it was hard. He'd never been this tired in his life. No way in hell had he been this tired. Up until five with Elfuet because he wouldn't sleep, then when he finally did go to back to his room, he noticed he had to get the other two up and ready for school. Of course, his dad had passed out and his mom was nowhere to be found, _again._ Karkat was sure she left right after his dad was finished screaming at him for being a "worthless piece of shit." She always snuck out when he started yelling at him.

"Fuck," Karkat said, staring at himself in the mirror. All he had to do was to get through three more hours: gym, math and history. That was it, then he could go home. But then again he didn't really _want _to go back to that hellhole. Not to the loud, screaming-mess that was his family. He was just about the only one who was sane. His older brother was a lot calmer than he, but Abelin was still as fucking crazy. It was all their stupid dads fault. It was always his fault.

"Yo, motherfucker, what are you doin' all up in here?" Karkat turned around, face to face with a tall, slender boy. He was much taller than Karkat was, with wild purple-ish black hair and a giant tattoo running up his left arm.

"Gamzee, leave me alone," Karkat grumbled, glaring at Gamzee's stupid grin. _Dumbass is probably high again_, he said to himself.

"Man, bro, don't be like that!" Gamzee said calmly. He tried pulling him into a "brotherly-love-hug", but he swatted him away. "Don't be that way, best friend!"

Karkat rolled his eyes. "You're such a fucking pothead."

"Its how I let loose motherfucker!" Gamzee cracked another genuine smile. Karkat's shoulders slumped a little, his lips twitching into a slight smile. Gamzee always knew how to cheer him up, even if he was totally helpless.

The two had been friends in elementary. It happened in such a rush. Karkat was sitting alone on the swings, wrapped in his large sweater, crying. Some kids had been making fun of him for being so short and scrawny. He had given them a mouthful in return, but he was still hurting. That's when Gamzee showed up. He sat down next to him, grinning like crazy. Karkat tried to ignore him as best as he could. Still, Gamzee followed him around like a lost puppy. After a while, the two just...starting becoming friends. He'd never had friends in the past and he knew he didn't treat Gamzee right. But the fuckass still put up with it, didn't he?

"Why don't we sit in here and chill till our next class?" Gamzee seated himself on the floor of the bathroom next the trashcan. Karkat followed, sitting next to him.

"Don't you want to eat lunch with Tavros?" Karkat didn't look him in the eye.

"Don't you want to eat lunch with Nepeta or Terezi?" Gamzee mimmicked him. Karkat scowled. That was totally different. Him and Nepeta weren't even actually dating. He didn't even know if he liked her. And anyway, he was horrified of her cousin. That dude would beat the shit out of him with one blow. And she wondered why guys avoided her. And Terezi was just his really, really good girlfriend. As in girl that was his friend. Nothing in any other sort of way. He'd had a crush on her before, but it never bloomed into anything big. Its not like he'd given her a Valentine in the eight grade and she totally shot him down because she thought he was joking or anything like that. Yeah. Totally.

"So why are you in here?" Gamzee slurred. Karkat could smell the marijuana on his breath. He seriously hated that stuff. He'd rather have him drunk than high any day.

"Tired," he whispered as he rubbed his eyes. "Long fucking night."

Gamzee gave him a concerned look (which is a shocker, because he normally has that stupid stoned grin on his face). "Bro, I think you should call CPT or some shit like that. A motherfucker like you shouldn't be taking care of three lil siblings."

"How would you know? You're an only fucking child," Karkat shot back.

"Hey, chill brother, calm your tits." Gamzee patted him on the back. Karkat could feel fury building up inside him. Just like it did last night when his dad told him he wasn't good enough. That he was just some stupid fucking lowlife that was never going to amount to anything.

"WHY DON'T YOU CHILL, GAMZEE!" Karkat barked. "JUST LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE, YOU DON'T GET IT!" Gamzee kept a stern look.

"I do too get it, bro." Gamzee's face was that of total concern. "I just don't want a motherfucker going over the edge because of this."

They fell into silence, Karkat with his face buried in his knees and Gamzee smoking a cigarette. He knew it was beginning to be too much. With living on support from his brother in college, they had little...next to nothing. They still were able to live in their average sized home, thanks to his mom's side jobs here and there, but that was it. The rest of the money they got was from Abelin, which Karkat spent on clothes and food. His mom was always out finding jobs that he was the one who cared for his siblings. And then his father...well he didn't do anything. He was the perfect example of the word asshole. He insulted his kids with every derogatory name out there. And with a smile on his face nonetheless. Karkat was sure his sisters would suffer from serious psychological trauma for the rest of their lives, with the things he'd done to them. It'd been like that since Karkat with in the fifth grade. He and Abelin would fight and scream at their father day in and day out, getting into fist fights even. Karkat would come to school with a black eye or a swollen cheek almost everyday. When Abelin left for college though, it had gotten even worse. His father began drinking and doing drugs, insults getting harsher, punches fiercer. His mother was barely around, trying to get away from him as much as she could. She was a sweet woman but he knew she couldn't deal with that. Especially with the money problems they'd been having.

He shouldn't be the fucking one to worry about it though. He was a goddamn highschooler and should be worrying more about his grades (which were average, A's and B's mind you) instead of taking care of his stupid siblings. Abelin shouldn't be the one who had to support them financially, he should be worried about building his life and all that shit.

Karkat slumped over even more, head pounding.

What sucked the most was...that everybody knew these few little facts about Karkat.

Sometimes, he really wished he would just die.

* * *

"Alright! All of you fu-," The woman stopped herself, smiling. "Maggots, are going to be running forty-five laps around the track! You stop, you do push ups! You don't do all forty-five laps? They get added to the fifty laps you'll all be doing tomorrow! Got me?" John looked over at Dave, who was standing there as if this wasn't a life-threatening situation. Who could possibly run forty-five laps around that big of a track! They'd have to be The Flash or something! Then again, John had never really been good a sports, so he really had no room to say anything.

"OH, and all of you say hi to your new classmate, John Egbert!" She said, looking at her clipboard. John smiled awkwardly. The whole gym class seemed to be staring at him. "Now get your sorry asses outside!"

The whole gym class bolted out the door. They all began jogging around the large, circular track, huffing from the slightly chilly air.

"Whats with a girl teaching boys gym?" John asked, bobbing up and down next to Dave.

"Dunno. Meenah's crazy though." John could tell. She had an odd haircut: short, jagged bangs with long braids in the back. Her lips were painted a pinkish tone, the same as her glasses. She stood and walked as if she owned the whole entire building.

She sort of scared him...

"Don't you call her Miss or Mrs?" John asked. Dave chuckled, staring straight ahead.

"Hell no. First day of gym she said "don't call me by my last name, its stupid. Just call me Meenah." And that was the end of it." Dave sped up a bit, John sort of lagging. They just had lunch, how was he supposed to be energized? How was _Dave _energized? He felt like a sack of potatoes.

Not that lunch was a complete bore or anything. It was anything but that. He sat with Dave, Jade and that Rose girl and her...girlfriend. John was a bit surprised that she was a lesbian, but its not like he cared. Gay people had never really bothered him. And Kanaya was really nice. Even though her and Rose were like walking dictionaries. The amount of words that flew out of those girls mouths was amazing. He and Dave did joke around a bit, but it was mostly the girls telling John who to stay away from and who was okay.

"I advise you keep your distance from Mr. Ampora. He is very obnoxious in a way," Kanaya informed him as she took a bite into her hamburger.

"Karkat's okay, but you just have to know how to get on his good side!" Jade chirped, nodding towards him. "I hear he doesn't have the best life."

"I would rather you not mention that around John. Karkat hates that so many of his family secrets have been aired out in front of the whole school." Kanaya gave Jade sort of a look. Jade turned a little pink and ducked her eyes down.

"Wait, what do you mean?" John said, but the group chattered on as if he hadn't said anything. _Well that's strange, why didn't they answer my question..._

"Terezi is so freaking sweet its not even funny." Dave had finally said something about someone. If Dave was cool with somebody, they obviously had to be loads of fun. Well, at least that's what John got from it.

"Yes, Terezi is nice," Rose said, swirling her finger around in her soup. "A bit wild, but she's nice."

"She's the most fucking awesome chick in this whole entire school!" Dave said, voice changing a bit. Rose and Jade gave him a look as if they were saying "you just say that because you like her". Dave flipped them off afterward.

John had enjoyed his lunch period with his new friends. But he wasn't exactly enjoying gym. Or the fact that his father was blowing up his phone.

"Move it fuckass!" Somebody yelled from behind him. He snapped out of daydreaming. John swiveled around to see who the person was, but the two collided and both fell flat-faced on the ground. There was a collective groan from the other boy.

"I'm sorry!" John yelped, jumping up. He looked down to see the Vantas boy staring up at him. With that same angry look on his face. The same one he had on the first time they met.

"Fuck off Egbert." And he ran off, large sleeves flapping in the wind. John sighed. Why was he wearing a long sleeved-shirt anyway? _He's obviously difficult,_ John thought.

"Don't mind KK, heth juth a dick thometimeth." John blinked. There was a scrawny boy with glasses jogging next to him now. He had blue and red glasses, and spikey hair. He reminded John of somebody from the nineties or something.

"Theriouthly, don't let him get to you." John cracked a small smile. His lisp was so thick. John had a hard time making out what he was saying, but he nodded anyway. "Anyway, I'm Thollux." He held out his hand, keeping his pace with John's.

"Nice to meet you...Sollux?" He questioned it. Sollux nodded and smirked.

"I know, ith hard to get path the lithp. I get it." John's face turned beat red.

"No, no! I'm sorry!" John blurted out, scared he was making another enemy. "I didn't...I don't know..."

"I'm joking, I'm joking." Sollux smiled at him again. The whistle blew. John looked over to see Meenah standing there, glaring at them.

"You two, stop chatting like girls and run or you're doing pushups!" She yelled.

John's eyes widened and he booked it as fast as he could.

* * *

John stood at his locker, smiling. His day had gone relatively well. Minus that he had his last few classes with Karkat Vantas. The one kid that nobody seems to want to talk about. Not even Vriska would tell him about Karkat. And she talked his ear off.

"Hey, wanna hang?" John jumped a little, accidentally slamming his locker. Dave stood there, face blank. He was wearing a red beanie on his head and was holding a skateboard.

"I um...don't have a skateboard," He muttered. Dave raised an eyebrow.

"Ah. Well, I'll just go and put this back in my locker. My bro can give me a ride tomorrow," He shrugged. "I'll meet you in front of the school, kay?" John nodded and opened his locker up again. He grabbed his homework out of it and stuffed it in his backpack. Before he shut his locker again, he noticed that there was somebody standing next to him.

"Hey." He said to Karkat. The boy looked at him with tired eyes and then proceeded to open his locker. There was dead silence between the two. John stood there feeling a bit put off by the other boy, but the suddenly-

"Hi Egbert," Karkat said. He sounded angry.

"I'll...see you tomorrow," John smiled at him. Karkat looked up from his lock and stared at him.

"I don't even know you, why the fuck are you being nice to me?" Karkat hissed, eyes narrowing. "Is this some joke Strider thought up? I know you talk to him."

"N-No! I was just being nice, really genuinely nice!" Karkat glared at him for a moment as John smiled at him awkwardly.

"...I'll see you tomorrow too. Bye." He opened his locker, grabbed his books out, and walked away.

* * *

"What do you know about Karkat?" John asked as the two walked home. The blonde stayed silent for a minute, as if he was trying to collect the right words to say.

"Not much that I do know. Don't really talk to him. Terezi tells me his life is shitty. Dads an ass and moms never home. She said he has to take care of all his siblings by himself basically," Dave muttered, scuffing his shoes. "Him and I got into a fight a while back, over Ter."

"Really?" John said, eyes widening. Dave nodded.

"That ass said I wasn't man enough to be her boyfriend. Unfortunately I ended up backing out of the relationship. I just felt it was better that Terezi and I were buds."

"That's not what Jade and Rose say..." John clucked his tongue. He could tell Dave rolled his eyes by the silence. And it stayed that way for a while. John knew he didn't want to talk about it. It was obviously a sore subject.

In the meantime he looked around, noticing how beautiful it was out. Birds chirped happily, warm sunshine wrapping around his body. The day had warmed considerably since gym and the black-haired teen thanked God it did. The sunshine made him happy. As did the ever-changing leaves that flowed through the air in what seemed like ribbons. He took in a deep breath, taking in the New England air. It was clean, unlike New York City. No smog or smoke. He could breathe without gasping for air every two minutes.

"What about Sollux? I met him in gym." John finally broke the silence.

"What about him? He's a nerd. Mom and Dad are divorced, Dad's rich as hell but Sollux hates him, so he lives with his mom. He's good friends with Karkat...and that weird ghost-like chick."

"You mean Aradia." John stated. Dave gave him a questioning look.

"How do you know her?"

"Jade pointed her out to me," He said, smiling.

"You two have that same dorky grin," Dave smirked, looking down. John couldn't tell if his cheeks had turned red or not. If Dave was blushing, John wouldn't be so embarrassed that he was too. The compliment was different, but it was...cute in a way.

"Hey, Dave, you goin' home?" The two stopped, looking over at the green convertible car parked next to them. There were two boys sitting in the front, one with blonde hair, a gray cap and pointed sunglasses, the other with wavy black hair, a considerably dark tan and glasses. In the back were two girls, one with strawberry blonde hair and pink lipstick and the other with short dark brown hair and large framed glasses.

"Hey, Stridre, your little bro swrings that way too!" The blonde girl laughed obnoxiously.

"Be quiet Roxy! Anyway, are you?"

"Yeah, bro, I'll be there. You gonna be late?" Dave asked.

"Nah, I don't have any homework, so I'll only be gone a coupla hours." Dave nodded.

"Hey, cap, whats your name?" The dark-haired boy asked, a slight accent to his voice.

"U-Um...John...Egbert."

"Quit it Engrish! You're tunring the poor boy awrn!" Roxy howled. The girl next to her gave John an apologetic look and hit the driver on the shoulder. Dave's brother nodded to him and they drove off.

"I didn't know you had a brother!" John exclaimed.

"Yeah, that's my bro. Name's Dirk. He's pretty sweet. Lets me do what I want most of the time." Dave said coolly, walking down a side street. John followed, trying to act as laid back as Dave. If it was even possible for him to do.

"Who were those other kids?" He asked.

"Driver was Jake English, the obnoxiously drunk one was Rose's sister Roxy, and the other chick was Jane." Dave walked up the steps to a small house. "You like video games? I got a shit ton."

John smiled. "Yeah, totally."

His first day of school and he'd already become such great friends with someone. And that someone happened to be one of the coolest kids in the school.

* * *

Karkat sighed, cleaning beer bottles up off the floor. Some were smashed to pieces, others laying everywhere. His mother was attempting to cook around the mess, humming happily to herself. There was a slight groan from the floorboards above them, and they all froze.

"Wheres my fucking watch!" His dad screamed from upstairs. The two girls at the table winced. They packed up their homework and began down the basement stairs. Karkat sighed and shut the door behind them. Elfuet giggled happily in his highchair, slapping his chubby hands down on the table.

Loud footsteps made their way to the kitchen. Karkat looked at the basement door next to the table, hoping one of the two had come to lock it.

"Well, where is it!" His father screamed.

"I don't fucking know, okay! Quit throwing a bitch fit!" Karkat yelled back, fists tightening. His asshole of a dad made a step toward him.

"What'd you say to me?"

"You heard me!" There was a loud crack. Karkat's face stung, worse than before. It threw him off balance and into Elfuet. The chair clattered to the floor, the baby screaming loudly. His mom gasped, rushing over to the baby. Karkat quickly got him up off the floor and back into the chair. His father mumbled something incoherent and went for the fridge. He had so quickly forgotten about the watch and now was only occupied with getting booze.

"Do you really need that!" His father turned around from the fridge, glaring at Karkat. Oh how he wished to just punch his father's teeth out of his mouth.

"You don't tell me what to do!" He lunged at Karkat, throwing him on the floor. He covered his head, blocking it from the kicks his father threw at him. He could hear his mom yelling at him to stop, but he didn't, kicks coming harder and harder.

Ten minutes later, Karkat was in his room, searching for his hoodie. He had already texted Gamzee that he was coming over. All he needed was his hoodie and he'd be fine. He found it, bolted down the stairs, told his mom he'd be home for dinner and went out the door.

He seriously fucking hated his life.

* * *

**AHAHAHAHA I TOLD YOU I WOULD UPDATE ON TIME! I feel so accomplished. Like seriously. I wrote this in like, four hours. I tried my best. I'm sorry if it sucks. I've been really busy, and haven't had time to write. Okay, I have had time. I'm just really lazy. **

**So, you get a little slice of Karkat's life and his friendship with Gamzee. Enjoyed or not? Added the alpha kids in there too. Just so John'll know who they are. Wanna know what fueled me to write this? Breath of Life by Florence and the Machine. Fucking amazing song right there. Legit. **

**Ehhh...I don't know what to tell you guys. Next chapter we'll probably look at most of the other characters lives their relationships with others. I just don't want to veer off too far from the DavexJohn. Cuz. Like. Yeah. Anyway, I'm tired, and I'll fix the grammar and spelling mistakes later, but now its time for bed! Review pretty pretty please! I'll love you if you do! c; **


	3. How Are You?

**Chapter 3**

**How Are You?**

_You don't need water to feel like you're drowning._

* * *

Gamzee sighed as he attempted to clean his room. Kanaya was sitting on his bed, staring off into a distance.

He'd never been able to take Karkat's temper tantrums. He could when they were younger. They were short and involved much less swearing. Gamzee chuckled. Karkat had such a potty mouth. He really just needed to go with the flow. That's always what he did. If Karkat got mad at him, he just relaxed, knowing the temperamental teen was just angry at...well the whole world. Gamzee never did anything wrong.

"Do you really believe it is okay for me to be here?" Kanaya said, staring at all the posters of heavy metal bands and demented clowns. Gamzee knew she was a bit out of her being, seeing as when she walked in she paused before sitting on his bed.

"Its all good sis, Karkat will be a-okay with it," Gamzee answered. He picked up his underwear and threw them in the open closet. The room was dark and musky, the strong smell of weed filling his nostrils. It smelled like motherfucking miracles.

"Gamzee, do you mind...opening the window a tad?" Kanaya asked, squirming a bit on the bed. He nodded, pulled the blinds and cracked the window a little. Man, now that smell was going to go right to the wind. Damn. It sure did lighten the room a bit, except now rain was pouring in on them.

"That's much more enjoyable."

"Whatever you say," Gamzee said, giving her another slurred chuckle. He really needed to get it together before Karkat got there. Better yet, before his dad did.

"Gamzee, why do you insist on having the most uncleanly of abodes?" Kanaya enquired. Gamzee gave her a look. He didn't understand one word of what she just said. He rarely ever did. "Why do you have to have such a messy room?"

"Oh!...I d'no. Why clean, man? Just gunna get all messed the motherfuck up again."

"You have very atrocious linguistics." Gamzee gave her another confused look. He heard the front door slam open and then close. That was soon followed by loud thumping up the stairs. Then his door was thrown open, knocking a few things off his shelf. Kanaya jumped, Gamzee freezing in his attempt to throw a bag of weed in his closet.

Karkat stood there, soaking wet from the rain. His hair stuck to his forehead, eyes red. He huffed in and out, as if he'd been running for hours. He body was visibly shaking, skin pale. The wind outside whistled fiercely.

"Hey, bro," Gamzee muttered, holding his arms open. He could tell Kar really needed that bro-hug right about now. Karkat took the hug reluctantly, but soon after melted right into his arms. Gamzee could hear him crying softly. "Let it out, brother, let it out."

After suggesting he take a long, warm shower, Gamzee and Kanaya found themselves sitting in the living room, listening to the sound of running water. The rain had let up a little, and now there was only small splats on the window.

"He has it difficult with his father," Kanaya whispered, rubbing her palms on her skirt. Gamzee held his breath. She didn't even know the half of it. Gamzee had been over there many times before, seeing Karkat's dad throw bottles of beer at him and his sisters. He shuttered at the thought.

"You don't even know the beginning of it."

Gamzee looked up to see Karkat standing in the doorway, wearing his purple pajamas (that were way too big for him). "Hey bro," Gamzee purred. Karkat sat next to Kanaya on the couch across from him, shivering. Gamzee's heart hurt. His best bud was in so much emotional pain and he had no clue how to fix it. _Man, if only Karkat was a little bit chiller..._

Then he started crying. It was soft and muffled, but it was there. Gamzee watched Kanaya try to comfort him, in a way mother would. Gamzee couldn't do a single thing. He just sat there. He couldn't move himself off of the couch. But he wanted to hold him so badly...

"Shh...It will all be fine..."Kanaya whispered to the crying ball next to her.

"No it fucking wont Kanaya! I haven't had a single happy day in about three fucking years! All because of my drunk, dumbass father! All he does is sit on his lazy ass and drink, drink, drink! I hope he dies! I wish they would find his body at the bottom of a river!" Karkat screamed. "He doesn't do anything! My poor mother and brother are doing it all! I can barely even help! All I can do is fight with him! Then he beats the crap out of me and goes to bed. And then the fucking cycle starts up again!" He yelled and screamed and sobbed all over the living room, until Gamzee thought it couldn't get any worse.

But it did.

"Sometimes I really wish I would just die!" He screamed, doubling over. Everything fell silent. Even the rain stopped. Gamzee and Kanaya stared at each other, as if they knew what each other were thinking just by looking at one another.

"Please do not do anything rash, Karkat," Kanaya pressed.

"Yeah, bro, we like havin you around! Don't go up and motherfucking kill yourself!" Gamzee pleaded, standing. Karkat was silent, eyes fixed on the ground. Gamzee knew he thought about it a lot. Karkat didn't even have to tell him.

Gamzee saw the changes. A normal person would've brushed off Karkat's small change of attitude. But Gamzee saw it all. Karkat would go off at him, and then just get lost, as if his thoughts weren't processing quick enough. He'd just shut down. Even when he did manage to get Karkat to let out just the measliest of laughs, it'd be hollow. Like he wasn't even there. When they hung out, Karkat was silent a lot of the time, leaving most of the talking to him. Sometimes he didn't even yell at Gamzee for going into detail about his and Tav's relationship. He just didn't care about life anymore.

"Just...leave me alone. I should've just stayed home!" Karkat snapped back, voice bitter.

"Karkat, doing away with yourself isn't the proper resolution!" Kanaya snapped back. Again, Gamzee couldn't find the words to say. The air was being sucked out of the room, Gamzee's head spinning with the lack of oxygen. What could he do? Nothing. Nothing at all.

"It'd be a lot easier for me!" Karkat screamed, clenching his fists. He had to do something. Karkat was hurting so bad right now.

"Bro, I'm gunna tell you this right motherfucking now," Gamzee hissed, pointing at him. "You kill yourself and a whole load of motherfuckers are gunna be upset. Don't you remember that you have friends and family? And what about me? I'd be a motherfucking mess without my best bro! I swear to the fucking messiahs: you kill yourself, I kill myself. You got that motherfucking straight?"

Karkat's eyes widened. Gamzee could feel the fumes coming off of his body. He never got this angry. Never. But he'd regret it if he hadn't said anything. If Karkat did something to himself Gamzee would never be able to cope. None of their friends could. Karkat might have been a crab, but it wasn't like everybody hated him.

"Y-You...You'd probably kill yourself anyway if you weren't on those stupid fucking meds, you fucking crazy!" Karkat bellowed back. Gamzee snapped. He grabbed the nearest object (which happened to be a remote) and whipped it at Karkat.

He hated it when people mentioned his medication. That was the one thing he couldn't take (well, besides people making fun of Tav, but that's beside the point).

It all started after his mom died in the third grade, right after he'd met Karkat. He was so depressed and so lost without her. And something else...something else had kicked in. Voices. Lots and lots of voices. His dad had never really been apart of his life up until that point, so he had a hard time adjusting. It wasn't like his parents were divorced, his dad was just always traveling over seas for who knows what. But, suddenly, he was there, smothering Gamzee to death. Sixth grade hit, and everything just went even more downhill. His depression worsened and his dad put him on medication. And then left. And left again. And again. He acted as if the medicine would make Gamzee better automatically. Sometimes Gamzee wondered if it even helped him sometimes.

"Asshole!" Karkat screamed, bounding towards him. Even though he was smaller than Gamzee, Karkat somehow managed to knock the taller teen down and onto the floor. Gamzee tried dodging the punches Karkat threw at him, but he was just too fast. He pounded on his nose, red blood covering his knuckles. Gamzee could see the tears forming in Karkats eyes, hot as they fell onto his own face.

A strike to the eye. It was quick and sharp. It would surely bruise. He could hear Kanaya yelling at the two to stop.

But he wasn't fighting back. Karkat was hurting too much for him to fight back...

_ He didn't mean it...he didn't mean it..._

The punches suddenly stopped. Everything was silent again.

Gamzee could see Karkat was trying so hard not to cry. Gamzee sat up and pulled the smaller one into his chest, nose still bleeding."Its okay bro, its okay. You didn't mean it. A motherfucker had to let out his feelings somehow, you know." Gamzee smiled.

"Shut up," Karkat growled into his chest. "Just shut the fuck up."

* * *

Tavros sat staring at his phone. Gamzee hadn't texted him back. He'd said something about Kanaya coming over and Karkat being upset again. He could barely decipher the text messages though. Gamzee had obviously been stoned at the time. Either that or he was trying to clean up a bit...or both.

Tavros threw the phone onto the bed, sighing. It didn't really matter. He never really cared if Gamzee texted him back or not, he just wanted to know everything was okay. He worried about them, Gamzee and Karkat. They both had pretty dangerous lives compared to his. All he did was sit inside and read all day.

"Tavros, do you want to help me bake some cookies?" His mother chirped from the kitchen.

"In a minute mom," He squeaked back, marking his page in the book that sat on his lap. Great, now he didn't get to finish his book _or _see if Gamzee texted him back.

"So sweetie, how was school?" His mom said, smiling as he wheeled into the kitchen.

"It was uh, fine. Mythology was fun."

"That's wonderful!" His mother giggled. "I remember taking mythology! That's-"

"That's where you, uh, you met dad. I know, I know." Tavros smiled, remembering the story in his head. His mother had told him it about five-million times. He didn't mind hearing it. It put his father into a whole new light. Instead of Tavros seeing him as a...a _douchebag_, he saw him as a sweet, caring young man, a lot like him. His mom always said he reminded her of his father when he was younger. That was pretty hard for Tavros to believe though.

"You're right. And if I wouldn't have met him, I would've never had you! My precious little Tav!" She ruffled his already messy mohawk. "Oh! I meant to ask you how Gamzee was doing?"

Tavros paused. It was so awkward talking about his relationship with her. Well, no it wasn't awkward. He loved telling his mother about all the sweet things Gamzee did for him. It was just awkward when his dad would walk in and get frustrated and start yelling at him.

His dad wasn't exactly the most gay-loving person, but Tavros had learned to deal with it.

Sort of.

"He, uh, he's fine!" Tavros said, blushing. "He gave me a teddy bear for our one month yesterday."

His mother squealed. "Really! That's adorable Tavros! Gosh I wish your father was like that!"

Tavros gave her a weak smile. He knew his dad really did care about the two of them. He just...sometimes let his emotions get the better of him. He hated Tavros for being gay, he just didn't approve of it. He was probably just upset because he'd spent all that time with Tavros when he was younger, telling him to be stronger and less wimpy. Gosh, he sort of let his dad down now that he thought about it. They always played sports together and he tried acting his toughest around his dad, but it just didn't work. He'd always been (and probably always will be) a crybaby and really...really weak. He'd cry over little things, like accidentally stepping on a bug or knocking over one of his moms plants. He never really meant to cry, the tears just sort of came out. Then his dad would start yelling and he'd cry even _more._

"How was work today?" Tavros asked. His mother handed him a bowl full of cookie dough, a spoon and a bag of chocolate chips. He poured them in as she talked. It was a regular day at the pediatrics ward in the hospital. She took care of a little girl who'd broken her arm, a boy who needed to get an MRI and then basically sat around all day. The hospital she worked at never really had too many patients.

"How have you been feeling, Vriska hasn't been bothering you has she?" She asked him, eyeing the wheelchair. He sighed.

"I'm uh, I'm fine. And she's not that, uh, bad mom, really. She didn't mean it."

"She tripped you, and you fell down a flight of stairs." Tavros stared into the bowl of batter. So what if she'd done it on purpose? Vriska had problems and he knew that. She might have hurt him, but he was over it. Everybody was. He didn't want everyone to hate her because of what happened to him. She didn't need that.

It was at some party Eridan was throwing. That spoiled rich kid always invited a ton of people to his parties. Tavros had decided to go, just for the fun of it. Dave always told him they were fun. He wasn't too keen on talking to people he didn't know, but hey, he had to get over his fears sooner or later. At least that's what Dave told him. Except the only person that would actually talk to him was Vriska, who he didn't really like talking to. She had always been mean to him, even in elementary school. A normal person would've said they hated her, but Tavros could never hate a soul, so he just dealt with it. But at that moment, she'd been particularly nice. They were really having a nice conversation, joking around with each other. That was until she decided to nudge him down the stairs they'd been chatting at the top of. At first, he though it was weird they had ended up talking up at the top of the stairs, but he didn't really pay much mind to it. That was until he was flying down the stairs.

Eridan didn't really like talking to him after that. And never did invite him to another party.

But afterward he sort of started to understand Vriska's problems. She visited him in the hospital once or twice. Attempts to apologize he figured. They never really came out right. She'd get tongue tied and start talking about how her mom never really paid attention to her, and let her do whatever she wanted. "Well she does pay attention to me, but she doesn't really. I really don't know what I mean. I guess she isn't strict enough. She's kind of a whore, so she's out like, fucking all the time."

His mom sighed loudly. "I really don't get that girl."

"I say the, uh, same thing." The two laughed happily. He handed her the cookie batter, and she told him he could go back to his room if he wanted. He took up her offer and went back to his room, picking up his phone. There was one text.

_HeY bRo, I'm GeTtInG tO bEd EaRlY, oKaY? LoVe YoU_

Tavros smiled brightly at the text. He had the best boyfriend in the world.

* * *

**HOLY SHIT I WROTE A LITTLE FLUFFY THING IN THERE- shiet. Whats wrong with me. What. Is. Wrong. With. Me. *bangs head on keyboard* **

**It was kind of cute actually. HEHEHEHEHEHE. **

**Anyway. Hi again. Late update, I'm sorry. Bad mood lately, no motivation. I don't really know what to write right here. **

**I'm basically going to be giving you the low-down of the characters lives the next couple of chapters. Unless you don't want me to. Whatever you think is best guys. It'd just be easier for me to organize it _that way_ than the random bluh bluh way I am right now. Because its really crappy right now. I'm such a nerd though: I have all their scheduals planned out, so I know who has classes with who. That took me about two hours. Because I didn't know who should take what electives. And I was on some school elective website, wondering why there were so many religious classes, and then I realized that it was because it was for religious schools. Can anybody else picture these guys in a Christian high school. **

**wait. isn't this supposed to be a Dave/John story...SHOOT SHOOT SHOOT SORRY SORRY. I GOT SIDETRACKED. I PROMISE THEY'RE BACK NEXT CHAPTER. I PROMISE. ****I WILL BE ADDING SOME KANAYA/ROSE IN THERE TOO, I PROMISE, I REALLY DO! I just...suck at writing as Kanaya. Big words hurt my head. I'm only 14 D;**

**...well, bye guy2. Reviiew2 plea2e? **


	4. Move

**Chapter 4**

**Move**

_"I kept kissing frogs, looking for my prince."_

* * *

"Hey, John, dude...what's the answer to number twelve?" Dave jabbed at John's back. He had been hunched over the whole hour, slobber occasionally covering his page. Vriska had just elbowed him a few minutes ago, but Dave thought he'd be nice and stab a pen into his back.

"Dave...seriously, I'm dying, not now..." John moaned from his arm-fortress. Dave rolled his eyes. Egbert could be such a baby sometimes. Especially if he didn't get enough sleep. He'd only known the kid for two months and John was the crankiest bastard he knew when he was tired.

"Tav, do you know?" Dave mumbled, peaking over his shades. Tavros was steadily working on his paper, like the good kid he was. Good. Dave didn't need him ending up like that geeky Egbert, who was insanely rude when he was cranky. God, fucking dick.

"I, uh, I think its chlorofluorocarbons..." He replied weakly. Dave nodded, accepting the answer. He wrote it down, his nasty chicken-scratch handwriting staring back at him.

"_Soooooooo_, John, why are you so sleepy today? Stay up too late playing Skyrim?" Vriska sang, stuffing her paper in her science book. Dave really couldn't stand that bitch sometimes. Like, every once in a while, he'd kick up a conversation with the Scene-Queen. But in general she was just rude and ignorant and annoying. Even before the Tav incident, she bugged the shit out of him. It was probably that knack for holding onto words for so long. Or just her face.

"No! I was texting Mr. Cool Kid all night." John slowly got up, stretching. He was lucky the teacher didn't give a fuck about their goodie-two-shoes of a hour or John would've been in the principal's office.

"Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't feel like sleeping," Dave shrugged, leaning back in his chair. So he had some weird attraction to John. No, it wasn't weird. It was ironic. He was friends with a nerd and he was the coolest kid in the whole grade. Yeah, that was it. Their friendship was ironic. Or "cute". That's how Terezi had put it. She's blind though, so her opinion didn't count.

"Yeah, well continuing to send the words "dickhead" and "fagface" over and over until I answered wasn't very enjoyable. I ended up calling you anyway!" John squeaked, rubbing his eyes. His hands pushed his glasses upwards, face scrunching up. Dave could feel his cheeks heating up again. They'd been doing that a lot lately. "You know, I don't know why you feel the need to keep me up all night."

"Because it's fun," Dave replied simply. That's all there was to it. Dave just...really liked talking to John. He just enjoyed him a lot more than any of his other friends. He had the sickest bros in the world, he knew that, but John had just become the sickest of them all. They both liked gaming. They could relate with each other over their annoying authoritative figures, and could make fun of Eridan together. That fish-gilled, swimming bastard pissed the both of them off. Well, not as much as Dave, but John still got annoyed. _But that was it._ Dave didn't know why they clicked, they just _did_. Jade tried saying it was some "bromance" because Dave finally had another boy to communicate with, but Dave disagreed. That was a load of Harley-bullshit. A lot of that flew around their group of friends. She could be a real ditz sometimes. Kind of like John but worse. It was almost scary how much those two were alike-

"Dave, would you take those sunglasses off, I can never tell what you're looking at!" John whined, reaching towards them.

Dave threw a hand up. "Hell no. Nobody touches these glasses!"

"They're uh...like his good luck charm. They are in baseball at, uh, least." Tavros croaked, smiling. John gave him a confused look.

"You play baseball?" He said.

"Yeah bro. I'm like fuckin' Babe Ruth on that diamond.," Dave smirked, nodding. "You should fucking see me in that uniform, I'm hot as hell. Make all the ladies swoon."

"Bleckkkkkkkk!" Vriska squealed, shaking her head, earrings jingling, fangs showing. "The only one swooning over you would be Terezi, and _she's_ blind!"

"You wanna know what Serket? Shut your mouth," Dave growled at her. Vriska rolled her eyes and turned around, obviously bored with the conversation.

_Good you dumb bitch, nobody wants you in our conversation. _

"That was mean Dave," John frowned. His heart started beating faster, stomach tensing.

"I don't care. Somebody needs to knock some sense into her."

"Dave, really. She doesn't need, uh, that, uh, crap." Tavros whispered. So the brat got picked on sometimes for being a bitchy user, that wasn't his fault.

There was a long silence between the three. John was sort of staring at the space between Dave and Tavros. Tavros was biting his lip, tan fingers beating against the arm of his wheelchair. Dave could really care less. He was too cool to get all upset over _Vriska Serket_ being mad at him. She'd get over it.

"...So can I see you're sunglasses?" John cracked a smile. Dave stared at him.

"Dude, hell no."

"Please?" John reached out again.

"John. No." Dave growled.

"Come on!" He sounded like a fucking girl when he whined. Egbert sounded like a pubescent girl. _It was...kind of...Dave, just shut up. _

The next moments went by in a rush. John stretched across the desk, arms grabbing for his glasses. Dave attempted kicking himself away from the desk, except the leg of his chair got stuck on Tav's wheel. That caused the chair to stop abruptly, then fall backward, throwing Dave out of it. The chair clattered to the floor, along with Dave. His head was pounding. He'd hit it on the desk behind them. In which the girls sitting there started screaming like total idiots.

"Dave, Dave I'm so sorry!" Egbert said, rushing over to him. "Are you okay?"

"I'm, uh, sorry too Dave!" Tavros said, eyes watering. He could hear the clicking of Ms. Jackson's heels on the cold floor.

"Mr. Strider, are you alright?" Dave propped himself up a little.

"Yeah, I'm okay." He said, standing up. He felt himself stumble. He would've probably hit the floor again, if John hadn't been there.

"I don't think so. How about you go to the nurse's office? John take him so he doesn't hurt himself on his way there." John nodded and grabbed all of their books. Dave nodded at John, a silent thank you. John nodded back. They exited the classroom, some kids trying not to crack up, others looking concerned.

The two walked down the hallway in silence. Dave could tell John felt bad about it. He didn't know why. There was no point in feeling bad. It was an accident. If he wouldn't have been acting like a dummy, he might have noticed that his chair leg was right in front of Tav's wheelchair.

"Hey, dude, it's okay." Dave nudged him. John smiled back weakly. Dave ruffled his messy black hair. "Seriously. Its all good."

"You sure?" John asked. Dave jerked his head a little. John could've stabbed him in the heart a thousand times, say it was an accident, and he still wouldn't have cared. That's what bros did. They didn't care what the other one did to them, as long as both of them could laugh it off.

"Thanks Dave."

"For what?" He looked at him out of the corner of his eye.

"For being my friend. I've never really had any real friends before, because you know, I move all the time. So it's really hard. And this is the first school where I actually feel like I'm wanted. You, Jade, Rose, Kanaya. Heck even Karkat and Vriska have made it so much better for me. Just, thanks a lot. I really owe you one." Dave blinked. Had he really made John's life that much brighter? I mean, the kid had fucking everything at his finger tips. iPhone, sweet surround sound system in his room, bank account and some Dre's it took his Bro a months-worth of salary to pay for. He even had a sweet grand piano. That thing was off the chain. "Yeah, really Dave. I know you gave me a weird look. I suffer from really bad depression, and the moving didn't really make it any better. Having all of you accept me has really kind of...halted it. In a sense."

Dave smirked. "Egbert, I don't need the sappy shit. A simple "thanks for filling my life with Strider-awesomeness" would have been enough." It was weird, but John had definitely made a dent in his life too. He'd become less distant and more social. Well, that's how he saw it. He was social before, just not to this extent. He even started gracing them with genuine smiles every once in a while.

Dave could honestly say that John was one of his best friends. Out of all the years he'd gone to school, he'd like John best. He was thankful for John's silly, stupid self finding its way into his life.

But he'd never let him know that.

* * *

"I mean, seriously Jade, he's so glubbing annoying!" Feferi squealed as she pulled herself up to her knees. The two had been talking about Feferi's current friendship-relationship problems. Jade didn't really understand it. Her and Feferi never talked outside of school, so when she explained things to her, she still didn't quite get the whole situation. Well, not to the extent that some of Feferi's _actual_ friends would. But yet Feferi told her all her deepest secrets.

"I don't get what you mean," Jade said, holding onto Feferi's tanned ankles. Jade silently envied the blonde heiress. Daughter to a multimillionaire, good looks, amazing fashion sense, bombshell body. She had it all.

"Eridan. Is. An. Attention. Whore." Feferi said each word with every sit-up. Jade rolled her eyes. No, he wasn't an attention whore. He was just an attention whore towards Feferi. Feferi this, Feferi that. That's all he would go on about. At least, that's what everybody told her.

"Well, I don't really know him..." Jade muttered, smiling weakly.

"I mean, he just expects me to take all of his emotional problems on my shoulders!" Feferi continued, not noticing Jade's uncomfortable body language. "_Oh, Fef, I just feel like everyone hates me! Weh, weh!_ With that stupid, weird accent of his. I don't even know where he got that from! His dad even talks like that! You know, I think this _all_ comes from his dad! He was mean to Eridan when we were little, and now he's succumbed to thinking that everybody hates him! Well, actually I do think a good majority of people hate him. He needs a counselor!"

Jade sat there, wide eyed as Feferi complained. She just didn't seem like the type to go off on long rants. But Jade knew differently. She saw the mean, angry side that Feferi couldn't show anyone else. Jade sort of felt special that Feferi confided in her.

"You know, you're really lucky Jade. You don't have to deal with any drama. Vice President of student council, track team captain, garden club leader. I wish I had a simple life like yours! Gosh!" Feferi fell onto her back, sighing loudly. Jade didn't know whether to take that as a compliment or an insult.

"Well, I mean, you just gotta take in all the positive. Think about it, if you weren't friends with Eridan, you probably wouldn't be swimming right now. Didn't you say his pool was the pool where you first learned to swim?" Jade said, trying to see over Feferi's knees. The swimmer was silent for a long time, obviously contemplating the thought.

"Yeah, I guess so Jade!" She giggled, pulling herself up again with a bright smile on his face. "I shouldn't be talking about him so badly, he is my best friend!"

Jade really wished she could hang out with Feferi. She didn't want to seem creepy though. They didn't have any other classes together except gym. Nobody even knew they talked to each other. Nobody would ever think a nerd like Jade Harley was somewhat-friends with the beautiful Feferi Peixes. It was like something out of the movies! One of those lame Disney Channel movies.

"How have your friends been?" Feferi said, getting up. Jade shrugged.

"The usual."

"Kanaya and Rose are the cutest couple! I mean, that's kind of weird for me to say, since I'm a girl too, but you know. They really are! They're cuter than two cuttlefish!" Jade made a face. Feferi had some really weird ocean obsession. Her and Eridan both did. She just thought it was kind of...creepy. Like one day they were just going to grow gills and their legs turn to tails and they'd jump into the lake and be mermaids. That...wouldn't be that surprising though.

"Yeah, I guess..." The two changed spots, Jade beginning to do sit-ups and Feferi naming off all the cute couples she knew.

_She sure does like to talk. _

She'd mentioned before that her mom was always really busy with business meetings, so she didn't really have anyone to talk to. Jade felt bad for her...she was little when her parents disappeared, and her grandpa had always been there for her. It seemed like Feferi really didn't have anybody else. Even her dad was off in some foreign country, doing who-knows-what.

"Not to be nosy Jade, but who do you like?" Feferi's big blue eyes looked into her green ones, begging for the answer. Jade knotted her eyebrows. She'd never thought about it. A boyfriend never really meant anything to her. Not in the least. She had thought guys were cute in the past, but nothing more. What girl didn't think a few guys were cute?

"I don't know...nobody really," She answered, voice shaking.

"Nobody? Really? What about Karkat? I hear you talk to him a lot." Jade shook her head.

"Who did you hear _that _from?" Jade huffed. _Let's change the subject. Karkat and I are just sort of frienemies._

"Sollux of course! He's like best friends with Karkat!" Feferi giggled. Jade raised an eyebrow.

"Oooh, Sollux," She smirked, going down. Feferi squealed a little.

"Quiet Jade! You know its only a little crush, and if anyone found out my reputation would be ruined! I mean, his family is so much drama, and he's a crap load of emotional baggage! I mean, he's sweet and all...I just, I mean, I have Eridan, and he's enough." Jade rolled her eyes. Feferi was just lying to herself. She was in_ love_ with Sollux, no matter how much she tried to deny it. Day after day, she'd talk about how he helped her with her math homework or returned a borrowed pencil. Little things that would make the blonde squeal with delight.

"Okay, okay, Feferi," Jade smiled.

"Just be glubbing _quiet_!" Feferi smiled back.

* * *

"I don't know what's wrong with him, I mean, I just fed him! But he's been whimpering since last night!" Terezi complained to the nurse, irritated. She missed a perfectly good discussion in Mock Trial because of her stupid dog. "Maybe I should just have him put down."

"No, no. Here, give him a bit of this." The nurse put two round pills in her hand. "I'm not a veterinarian, but I sure can tell when somebody's constipated." Terezi shook her head.

"Eww, that's so gross!" She cackled. "I'm glad I can't see Lemon's crap." She pat the dog on the head. Being blind did have its advantages. She thought it was kind of weird she didn't know what people looked like, but it was easier for her to figure out if she liked them or not by personality, not looks. And it was really fun to mess with people.

Her ears twitched, the sound of the creaky door opening.

"Hey Nurse Paint, how's it going?" A familiar voice said. "Terezi, Lemon." The dog barked in response to Dave's voice. Lemon really liked Dave, almost as much as Terezi did. And Lemon really _did not_ like people. Dave was just too cool not to like. The giant golden retriever was just in love with him.

"Well hey there Dave!" Terezi giggled. "What brings you to the dungeon?" Most of the kids at their school referred to the Nurse's office as 'the dungeon' because it was on the lowest level of the building, next to the furnace room. It was supposedly creepy as hell, but you know. She was sort of blind, so she wouldn't know.

"John pushed me into a desk and I hit my head."

"I did not!" An annoying voice said. John Egbert. He just thought he was the shit, didn't he? So special that he got to hang out with Dave.

"Hi John," Terezi smiled in his direction.

"Hi Terezi," He replied happily. God, he was always just so bubbly wasn't he? She was never like this with anyone, but he just made her so mad. Vriska's attitude was defiantly rubbing off on her.

"So Dave, are we still have that 'sick-nasty' comic drawing party tomorrow?" She said, raising an eyebrow.

"Hell yeah man. Wouldn't miss it for the world." Terezi's heart jumped.

"Great! Well, I'll see you around! Thanks Nurse Paint." Terezi grabbed her walking stick, Lemon's leash and made her way out the door, but not before hitting John with her stick. He made a small "oof" as Lemon led her out the door.

"Alright Lemon, lets get back to class, hehe." Terezi whispered to the dog. She frowned to herself. Dave and her had barely hung out ever since John Egbert came into the picture. One day he was just _there_. Without any warning. Everybody seemed to be talking about him. Even Vriska. He was really all she talked about anymore. John this, John that. Terezi didn't really give fuck, but now he was just starting to annoy her.  
She paused. Vriska liked John. John might possibly like Vriska. Those two start dating. Dave spends more time with her again.

"Lemon, I should get to work on my plan." She cracked a grin. "But, we can't let anyone know about this. They'll put both of us to death. The highly respected Terezi Pyrope would never again be aloud to join in mock trials ever again." She put a finger up to her lips and continued walking down the hallway, plan hatching in her mind.

* * *

**IM ! Dont be mad a me! I love you all so much for your wonderful reviews and this chapter had DavexJohn in it and its cute and fluffy and not in the least bit depressing and IM SORRY. I UPDATED SO LATE. SO SO LATE. I ALWAYS END UP DOING THIS. I AM SO SORRY. I HAVE HAD NO INSPERATION. **

**Terezi is so OOC its not even funny...I guess she just really likes Dave. Really. Really. Likes Dave. Somewhere deep inside of me, Terezi seems like the type of girl that gets jealous but shows it through bitter kindness. Okay, I'm done. **

**IM SORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRY.**

**...I am such a spazz. I apologize. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, please review! I promise to update quicker next time. **


	5. Inevitable

**Chapter 5**

**Inevitable**

_"I know that time stops for no-one, let alone me."_

* * *

John rubbed the back of his neck, standing nervously in front of the large double doors ahead of him. He looked up, staring at the large letters running across the building. He didn't really know what to say. It was weird. He hadn't been to a mall in months. Maybe even a year. It felt like being at the first day of school again.

He walked through the doors, air conditioning blasting him in the face. He got taken back a bit, but moved on, with a few strange glances from the people inside. Which totally didn't make his face turn beat read or anything.

"Hey, Egderp, over here," Somebody called. John smiled. Dave could never not be cool about everything, could he?

"Hi guys!" He said, sitting down at the end of the table. It was kind of awkward looking. Dave had pulled another seat up for him, and all the other tables around them only seated two to four people. Oh well, that was sweet of Dave to do that.

_John, not sweet, it was nice of him._

_ No, that still sounds extremely gay._

John's face turned even more red than before. So he was developing some sort of man-crush on Dave. Which was totally normal. All the guys in their grade wanted to be him. He was the face of cool. He acted like he couldn't give a fuck about anything. John admired that. In a bro-ish kind of way. He didn't like-_like _him or anything. No way. He wasn't a homo. In any way. No offense. He loved homosexuals. He just wasn't one. At least he didn't think he was. He had never felt like this about another boy before. Never in his life had he-

"John, are you alright?" Rose said, waving a hand in front of his face. He blinked for a minute, realizing he'd blacked out on some homosexual-induced rant.

"Oh, yeah I'm fine!" He chuckled awkwardly. He was glad none of his friends minded his awkwardness every once in a while. It took time getting used to new people.

"So, what do you guys want to do?" Dave asked, looking over them all.

"Kanaya and I were hoping to take a visit to the book store." Rose smiled at her girlfriend. Kanaya's glossed lips parted, one of the prettiest smiles John had ever seen shining through. John didn't really see either of them smile much, unless they were around each other.

"Kay, that's cool, I guess I'll head to a shoe store or some shit like that. John, you want to?" Dave turned to him.

John's face yet again decided to turn into a cherry tomato. "Y-Yeah, sure."

"Wait," Jade pouted. "What am I supposed to do then?"

"If you'd like to join us, you are more than welcome to," Kanaya said, pushing her seat back. Rose followed, and the two began walking away, but not before wrapping their hands tightly together. Jade huffed loudly, getting up, and running after the two.

Dave chuckled. "Sometimes I wonder why that girl doesn't have a boyfriend, I mean, she is pretty cute." John's heart stopped. Did Dave just confess his love for Jade? Did Dave like her? He'd never really noticed Dave's feelings for Jade before, but now that he thought about it, it sort of made sense. Yeah, those two definitely liked each other.

"John, are you okay? You're acting pretty weird, bro," Dave said coolly, getting up. He pushed his chair in with a loud_ screee._

John shook his head. "I didn't think you liked Jade like that!" He blurted out.

"What?" Dave looked at him, confused. "Oh, no way dude. Jade and I are like brother and sister. No way in hell would we ever start dating!"

There was a long pause. John stared at the ground, lips trembling. God, how could he have been so stupid to actually say that _out loud. _

"Anyway," Dave started. "I'm interested in someone right now."

John's heart skipped a beat.

_You're not a homo, you're not a homo. _

They walked silently next to each other, their shoulders occasionally brushing. John was nearly having a heart attack every time they touched, trying to figure out why he was feeling like this. He just needed to keep calm and not let any of these weird emotions show.

"John, you're shaking like a fucking leave. What's wrong?" Dave hissed, eyebrows knotted.

"Oh, its just really cold in here! Woo! So cold!" He sounded like such an idiot! _"Woo! So cold!" _Who says shit like that? Weirdos, that's who!

"...Alright then." Dave mumbled, walking a bit faster.

_Just stay cool, John. If you keep acting like this, you're going to end up scaring Dave off. He's the coolest person you've ever met. And now your fucking weird-ass emotions have to come into the picture and screw shit up. Just keep __**calm**__. _

"So uh, who do you like?" John asked, folding his arms behind his head. Dave was silent for a long time. John could feel things becoming even more awkward. He should've just kept his mouth shut.

"I want to make sure they like me back first, you know?" Dave said, biting his lip slightly. His face turned from its normal blank expression, to an emotion John couldn't put his finger on. "Okay, lets cut the mushy stuff. That shits for girls."

"Okay Dave," John laughed, snorting a little. "Okay."

* * *

"Do you guys think Dave likes John?" Jade said, pulling a book off the top shelf. She was pretty sure neither of them heard her, but it didn't really matter. She was just thinking out-loud anyway.

The question had been bothering her for a while now. Dave acted different when he was around John. He wasn't as stoic as he was when he was around her or Rose or even his brother. His facial expressions were more soft and relaxed. It kind of...broke her heart. Rose had Kanaya and now if Dave had John, she wouldn't have anyone to...

"I do believe that Dave does have some sort of strong emotional bond with John," Kanaya said, leaning against the bookshelf, eyes wandering over the page of a book.

"I agree. Dave seems more...stirred, in a way, around John," Rose agreed. Jade frowned. So she wasn't the only one who noticed. Well that sucked.

"So, you think they're going to start dating," Jade added, putting the book back. She pulled another one off, not even glancing at the title.

"Possibly," Kanaya murmured, engulfed in the book.

"Are you two going to give this some thought, or no?" Jade spat, glaring at them. Rose tucked a blonde tuft of hair behind her ear in response. Kanaya was just silent. Jade let out a small screech, slammed the book on the shelf, and stomped out of the store.

"God, those two are so oblivious when books are around!" Jade hissed, whipping out her phone. Who could she talk to about this? Nobody understood her more than who she came to the mall with! So who in the world would want to listen to her now?

She sighed. She did know of somebody. But Jade didn't even know if they actually cared...

_Oh well...might as well give it a go..._

* * *

Feferi was curling her hair when her phone rang. She smiled, shut off the iron and picked it up.

"Hi there Jade!" Feferi let out a bubbly giggle.

"Hi Feferi, I was calling to ask you-," Feferi cut her off. She already knew what she was going to ask.

"About the party, I know. You can bring your friends if you want to! I was meaning to invite you sooner, but I forgot! I'm so sorry Jade! You're like, one of my best friends! I really want you to come! Its tonight at eight." Feferi smiled brightly at herself in the mirror. Most people wouldn't have guessed she was friends with the Vice President, but she was! Well...sort of. Not really. Jade was super, duper sweet, and she knew that, but their schedules totally contradicted each other. Feferi had swim team, Jade had track. Then Jade had her friends and Feferi had well...what did she have?

"Well, I don't know, I mean maybe-," Jade started, but Feferi was overjoyed by that simple 'maybe' that she cut her off again.

"Oh goodie! Hey, you're friends with Karkat, right?" Feferi said, examining her fuchsia nails.

"Yeah, why?" Jade said, sounding confused.

Feferi giggled. "I want you to ask him to come, and for him to bring Sollux!" There was a long pause.

"Oh, um...alright!" Jade replied. Feferi's smile grew larger and larger by the moment. The one boy she'd been crushing on forever was going to be coming over to her house and she might actually get to have a real conversation with him!

"Thanks so much Jade! I'll see you tonight then!"

"...Yeah, bye Feferi," Jade said, sounding a bit disappointed, ending the call. Feferi clapped, turning the iron back on. Oh Gosh, this was going to be the best party ever. Before she only invited all the popular, rich kids she hung around. But they were so boring at parties. All the wanted to do was get wasted. They didn't dance, they didn't laugh with each other. They just fought and drank. That was all so boring! Inviting everyone else in the grade was so much more...happy!

She rushed to her closet, throwing clothes every which way. She had to wear something that was dazzling, but not too stunning. Something blue maybe? No, that was too boring. A dress, she needed a dress. A floral dress maybe.

"A whole walk in closet and I can't find a single thing to wear!" She huffed, falling back onto the floor in a fit of frustration. Her blonde curls bounced in her face, tickling her cheeks. She giggled.

When she was younger, she remembered her mom curling her hair for her. She liked it being wavy, but she wanted thick curls, like the girls in the magazines. Her mom obliged, even going to the extent of being her high-end fashion at the age of six. Things were happier back then. Her mom was always home, and her dad was actually in the country.

"But that's all different now..." Feferi whispered as she pulled her knees up to her chest. The house was always so quiet, so dead, so _empty. _She wished she had somebody to keep her company.

The tears started coming now, and really, she didn't care if she messed up her mascara. She wanted to just let it all out for a little bit. The let out the pain of not having a mom or dad being there for her. Not knowing where her mom was half the time and her dad being so far away. It was just so frustrating. She wanted to be like all the other kids. They didn't have to give a shit if they looked good or not, they had parents there to tell them everything was alright. She was just going to cry on her closet floor, until she felt a little better. Because she knew that when she walked out of that closet, she was going to have to be that happy, bubbly girl everybody knew as Feferi Peixes.

* * *

"Kk, do you know how to pick up girlth?" Karkat scrunched his nose. The hell was Sollux asking him this question for? Like hell he knew how to pick up girls! Doesn't this douchebag pay attention to anything? Terezi shot him down every time he even started flirting with her and he couldn't even get close to Nepeta.

"Fuck no, douchebag," Karkat said, looking at himself in the mirror. He looked like death. If death didn't wear a black cloak and carry around a scythe, he'd look like Karkat Vantas. Messy dark hair, long sleeved shirts and baggy jeans.

"Theriouthly, I need thome help here," Sollux hissed through the receiver. Karkat rolled his eyes. What girl was he trying to impress anyway? She's have to be blind to get past Sollux's awkward-looking mug.

"Please don't tell me you're going after Terezi," Karkat grumbled, slapping a palm to his forehead.

"No, thupid! I um...I like Aradia," He whispered. "You know, that girl with the really pretty, long black hair. Dark brown eyeth. Normally wearing red lipthick."

"Oh, her. Well how I am supposed to fucking know. That girl is dead silent when I'm around. Fuck, she basically is dead. Isn't she the one whose parents are like, morticians or something?"

"Thath bethideth the point!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, I don't know, just tell her you like her or some shit like that." Karkat didn't really feel like putting up with Sollux's stupid romantic affairs. Love didn't matter in the first place anyway. It was a fucking joke.

"Kk, you are no help."

"Fuck off loser," Karkat said, phone buzzing. God, what the fuck did that bitch want? "One second Sollux, I have another call."

He switched the call over, rolling his eyes. "What the fuck do you want Harley?"

"You don't have to be so rude Karkat! Maybe I was just calling to confess my love for you! How would you like it if you totally crushed my heart right now? If I hung up in tears and never spoke to you ever again!" Karkat listened as she went on and on about how he should be nicer to people and that one day karma was going to kick him in the ass.

"Why the fuck did you call?" He yelled into the phone, hoping it would shut her up.

"Oh yeah! Feferi wanted me to invite you to her party because...yeah...Oh wait no, that wasn't it...oh God...I was supposed to have you invite somebody..." He waited for her to get done checking the rubber bands on her fingers.

"Hurry the fuck up!"

"Oh! Invite Sollux!"

"What, why?" He asked. Of all the people in the world for Feferi Peixes to invite to her party, she picked Sollux? Was Harley sure that that was who Feferi wanted to come? Maybe she meant like fucking...Yeah nobody else was named Sollux or even had a name close to it.

"I don't know, just do it. The party is tonight at eight. You better come or so help me Karkat Vantas I will rip out all your hair," Jade snapped. Karkart glared at the wall.

"Whatever, goodbye," He said, hanging up. "Sollux, you still there?"

"What the fuck took so long?"

"Harley was talking about some shitty party she wants us to go to tonight. You up for it?" He said, jumping back onto his bed. Sollux snorted.

"Where at?" He said, annoyed. When compared to Sollux, Karkat could have been seen as one of the fucking happiest people in the world. Karkat could swear that he was bipolar. He had the biggest mood swings it wasn't even funny.

"Feferi's house." Karkat looked around his room, frowning. He'd have to clean it before they went to the party. His mom never let him go anywhere if his room was messy. You know, that's what he really loved about his mom. Even though his dad was such a douche, she always found a reason to be motherly and not give up. She tried hard to keep her kids in line. Even though Karkat did stray a little bit sometimes. He knew she worried about him. Always telling him that one day he wouldn't have to wear long sleeves to hide bruises, and that getting a few bad grades wasn't all that bad, that he didn't need to work himself that hard.

"Whatever, fine, I'll go. But you have to give me a ride."

"Fuck no, get your own ride asshole!" Karkat hung up and threw his phone down. He had the shittiest friends possible. He couldn't even remember where he picked up Sollux. One day they were just talking to each other, and the next they were best friends. It wasn't a relationship like his and Gamzee's, but it was still some kind of friendship. If either of them even called it that.

"Better start cleaning this shit up," Karkat groaned, pulling a few shirts up off the floor.

This was going to take forever.

* * *

"Do you think what Jade was saying earlier might have some truth to it?" Rose asked, sipping her coffee. Her and Kanaya had decided to rest inside the little Starbucks across from the bookstore, ordering coffee and some small sweets.

"There might." Kanaya clucked her tounge. "I have no reason to believe there isn't."

"I guess you're right," She agreed, trying to hide a small smile. She was hoping this might happen. John was a nice boy, and so was Dave. Well, in a sense. Dave was a pure douche bag who acted like he couldn't give a shit. Pardon her French, but it was true. That was exactly what Dave Strider was. To himself and to the public.

"I believe Jade might feel...left out, so to say," Kanaya said, looking down at her new book. Rose stared at the Starbucks woman, eyes flowing over the waving hair. That was a problem. Jade did sound awful upset at the thought of John and Dave dating. Or even having feelings towards each other.

"Well, I don't think it'll be a problem. Dave is too stubborn to admit that he has feelings for someone of the same sex, and John is always stating that he "isn't a homosexual"." Rose swirled her pinky around the mug. Kanaya nodded in agreement.

"So, are we participating in the excitement of viewing films tonight?" Kanaya asked, reaching out and stroking her hand. Rose shut her eyes, blushing.

"We did get invited to that party, did you want to go?"

Kanaya sighed softly. "It just is not for me Rose, you know that. Teenagers releasing frustration through drinking and grinding ontop of each other disgusts me."

"Oh really, I thought you got enjoyment out of things like that," Rose said sarcastically. They laughed together, their voices blending. Rose was happy that she found somebody like Kanaya. Somebody who comforted her when she got down, someone who was always there no matter what. It was different with Jade, John and Dave. Jade and John were too goofy to understand some of the stuff she went through, and Dave was just to unemotional to be comforting. Though she felt bad putting it all on Kanaya sometimes, she knew Kanaya was always welcoming to her problems.

She frowned. She didn't have to share her feelings with anyone though. Her feelings shouldn't matter though. Why should they? Other people had way harder problems than her. She should just suck it up and not talk about them anymore. Other peoples problems were way more important than hers. If she wanted to be a therapist she should learn how to suppress her own feelings.

"Rose, are you alright, you look a bit down," Kanaya said, smiling weakly at her.

"Oh no, I'm fine. Now, where do you want to have our movie date?" She smiled.

"How about my abode. My mother just installed a brand new television, " Kanaya said as she sipped on her coffee.

"Alright," Rose said, nodding.

Kanaya leaned across the small table, pecking her on the cheek. "That way your sister won't drunkenly flounce into the room and accuse us of 'getting it on'," Kanaya softly said into her ear.

Rose giggled. "Sounds good to me."

* * *

**Fast chapter is fast. :P **

**Hey there guys! How is your summer going? Mines going greeeeeeeeat! :) I'm sorry for no updates for about a month! I get bad writers block. Really, I suck at writing! Plus, Tumblr takes up most of my time. I can just sit on there all day and not do anything. Oh yeah, I got a summer job volunteering with a bunch of little kids and at the pool. Woooh! Haven't really spent much time with friends or anything. Nothing too exciting has happened. Me just sitting around and being boring!**

**Well, here it is, brand new chapter. Sorry it seems so rushed. I kind of want to get to the next chapter because I have a bunch of big stuffed planned for that one, which leads to more drama and yadda yadda. I'm thinking its middle of November in the story. They're in the 11th grade, I think. I don't know. Bluhh. I really need to introduce some other characters! I think everyone is going to get their own part in the next chapter, I hope. I'm going to try and fit everyone in...  
**

**I see Feferi as having this really bubbly exterior, but deep down inside she's kind of sad because her mom and dad are never there, hence her little breakdown. AND I APOLOGIZE FOR MY CHEESY ROMANCE, I SUCK AT IT. I'M GOOD WITH DEPRESSING THINGS AND GOREY THINGS. NOT ROMANCE. **

**My friend keeps asking me if I've gotten any fan-art for this fic yet, and I'm just like "LOL YOU'RE SO FUNNY!" **

**So um, you guys should go look up "Not in Love" by Crystal Castles, because that's what gives me inspiration to write this, along with Ed Sheeran's "A-Team" and Christina Li's "Disappear". God, I love those songs!  
**

**Well, wrote this in one night, minus the beginning. I had that sitting on my laptop forever! Oh well! So, I'm going off to sleep now! Night everyone! **

***psst, if there's any spelling/grammar errors, I apologize! Ahaha, I checked the beginning, but got lazy near the end.***


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